Lilypond dubai11/2/2022 ![]() ![]() It was one of those unplanned moments that turn out to be one of the best. No guide, no other tourists, only the monkeys swinging through the trees to keep us company. Nick and I swam ahead and found ourselves alone in the beautiful emerald lagoon. Most of the other tourists were tired or couldn’t swim so only a handful of us did. On a island hoping tour in El Nido our guide offered us the chance to swim into a lagoon. We conceded that we did have one of the highest rates of obesity in the world and perhaps there is some truth in the generalisation… “But we are known for all the outdoorsy sort of activities like hiking and snowboarding - how could we have a reputatation of being a fat nation?” Nick and I were quick to defend our country. Lilypond dubai plus#Plus after getting mistaken for being pregnant in Singapore, it was quite nice to be called thin even if the rest of New Zealand was obese. Somehow it suited her and it wasn’t offensive. Nick and I laughed at the bluntness that only a Eastern European can get away with. This generalisation had come from a friend who had spent sometime fruit picking around the country. “You are from New Zealand, but you two are thin,” she said. I will never forget one conversation we had while we lounged in the hammocks outside his place. He lived with his girlfriend Svetlana from the Czech Repulic. We got the special treatment and stayed in his house in a double bed. Our host took the couch surfing business seriously and had erected bamboo houses which sleep about 20 people at one time. Nick and I glanced at each other, both looking a little fearful, but as we started walking the children greeted us with big smiles and everyone was used to backpackers making their way to Jonathon’s house. There were bamboo huts that people called home, with children flowing out of them playing in the dirt. Our host, Jonathon, lived down a dusty unmarked road littered with chickens, pigs and dogs. We had our first (and only so far) couch surfing experience in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Out to dinner with our host and other couchsurfers She had never tried hummus and watching her eyes sparkle as she dipped a falafel into the chickpea dip was priceless. She was in her early twenties and grew up in small town New Zealand and was extremely enthusiastic about the new foods she was subjected to. ![]() We also met the only Kiwi we have come across so far, and even though the taste of Marmite was still a recent memory at that stage it was lovely that she let us spread it on our toast. The universities she teaches at give her an allowance to stay in hotels but she would rather stay in hostels and save the money. If that wasn’t enough, she is also a travel writer and rides motorbikes all around the world with her husband. It helped her immensely and now she is sort of doing something similar throughout Asia and teaching tolerance and other worthwhile lessons like waste management. She grew up in South Africa and went through a programme aiming to integrate cultures after appathied ended. I met a Malaysian woman who is trying to achieve world peace through teaching dance at universities. The communal breakfast table at our hostel was a source of inspiration. ![]()
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